04 June
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I can’t help but find it funny that my time with the Ventura County Poetry Project is coming to an end during the season when life blooms most with newness and beginnings. Then again, maybe it’s not all as dramatic as that. Maybe that’s just my “poet” showing. In all seriousness, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time. I’ve learned a lot as a writer and poet, and what it means to be vulnerable. I have a lot of non-poet and non-writer friends who read my writing or listen to me talk about writing, and the general response is always, “I could never do that,” and byRead More →

14 March
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Writing sometimes feels like dancing. Turning and twisting until you learn the steps, and just when you get comfortable in the routine you decide to do a few freestyle moves. As it turns out, I tend to write in two different poetic voices. It’s an interesting feat, something I’d like to compare to taking turns on the floor with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Or maybe doing a classic little waltz with William Blake himself. I wouldn’t say I’m as graceful as him, but I can follow the pattern well enough because I too find equal amounts of romance and horror in this human existence.Read More →

26 January
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  Hi all! My name is Cara Blanco, and I’m the lucky duck interning with the Ventura County Poetry Project this Spring. I was asked to write a small introduction, ergo this is a peephole into who I am. So, again, hi, my name is Cara. I’m a college student, daughter, sister, lover, tutor, reader, and—on my best (and worst) days—writer. I enjoy grocery shopping, ice cream, the way the scent of an orange lingers on your hands long after you’ve peeled it, and the color blue in most of its shades. Some of my hobbies include binge-watching shows and movies, going for walks, attendingRead More →

07 November
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Couplets are a short form of poetry, and a very popular one! Couplets are two lines of poetry, typically written in the same meter or rhyme. Couplets are an easy poetry to write, and as such are very popular to both read and write! Some of the most notable couplet writers are Shakespeare and Dr Seuss, each having written many couplets. While they can be written on their own, couplets also come at the end of sonnets, and other long poems. Series of couplets are also common. There are a lot of different kinds of couplets, and today we’ll be talking about heroic, split, open,Read More →

08 October
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Sonnets are an older form of poetry, and one of the most well known kinds of poetry. A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines, with a formal rhyme scheme, and usually (though not always) written with ten syllables per line of poetry. Most know them through Shakespeare, as he wrote over a hundred sonnets and many are taught in English Classes. His style of writing them is difficult for many to replicate, since he wrote in iambic pentameter. However, his style is not the only way to write a sonnet. There are four kinds of sonnets: Petrarchan, Shakespearean, Spenserian, and Miltonic.   A PetrarchanRead More →

14 September
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Hello! I’m Beta Drews, an intern at Ventura County Poetry Project. I’m a sophomore at CSUCI; majoring in English, Creative Writing and minoring in Art. Some hobbies of mine include drawing, painting, TTRPGS, video games, and most of all, writing. I like writing short stories, longer stores, and, of course, poems! I like reading and writing a wide variety of poems, but some favorites include haiku sonnets, epics, couplets, and free verse.  I have a lot of plans for my time interning here. One of my passions is getting more people to be creative as a hobby, it’s important to express yourself and I believeRead More →

05 December
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Thank you to Marsha, Phil, and to everyone who was involved with the project for putting this all together. Thanks to these amazing poets and storytellers, “Dear America: Telling the World We Lived,” can spread history and life lessons to a younger generation. I don’t think we’ll ever recover from the pandemic but sharing our stories and poems will help our experiences last forever. Today I am sharing the stories and poems of Eileen Fiori, Marcy Wingard, and Jerry Garcia.  Eileen has always had a thirst for knowledge. After taking courses on women’s studies in mid-life; Eileen realized that she did not want to followRead More →

28 November
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For this week’s blog, I have the privilege to share four more impactful stories. Working with CA Humanities has helped our community share and learn from these valuable stories. “Dear America: Telling the World We Lived,” preserves the powerful voices of older people. Not only has the pandemic taken some much away from us, it has also helped us grow stronger. I hope that everyone has enjoyed these stories as much as I have. This week, I am honored to share with you the stories and poems by David Oliveira, Mary Kay Rummel, Russell Stockard, and Jeanne Munesato. David Oliveira shares his story about movingRead More →

04 November
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I’ve had the honor to listen to a few more stories and poems from our grant, “Dear America: Telling the World We Lived.” Just a reminder, the Ventura County Poetry Project is working with CA Humanities to preserve and learn from powerful voices of older people. Due to the pandemic, we’ve experienced a devastating loss. “Dear America: Telling the World We Lived” was created to record significant experiences in poems and stories from older writers and pass them on to the younger generation. I was incredibly moved by Andrea Carter Brown, Ruben Lee Dalton, Shigeru Yabu, and Lydia Cruz-Machlitt’s stories and I hope that youRead More →

18 October
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“Dear America: Telling the World We Lived,” is a new initiative that the Ventura County Poetry Project is working on, based on a grant from CA Humanities. It provides an incredible insight to many stories from the community. This project is made to preserve and learn from powerful voices of older people. Due to the pandemic, we’ve all experienced a devastating loss. It feels like there has not been enough time to stop and grieve over the losses we have experienced over the last year. Death rates, especially in seniors, have increased immensely due to the pandemic. “Dear America: Telling the World We Lived” wasRead More →